GADGETS AND GIZMOS

VIRTUE: UNIQUENESS. DISCOVERING WHO GOD MADE YOU TO BE SO YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
WEEKLY MAIN POINTS:

WEEKLY MAIN POINT: GOD MADE YOU TO FOLLOW JESUS.

WEEKLY BIBLE STORIES: PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN OFFICIAL ● ACTS

SERIES MEMORY VERSE: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10, NIV

ENGAGE

LEGO CREATIONS

WHAT YOU NEED: Legos (1 bag)

WHAT YOU DO:

• Start by introducing yourself and welcoming kids to your eGroup. Ask them about their week and interests. Use the following questions to generate discussion:

What’s something cool that happened this week?

What was the best part of your week?

Have you ________ (seen/eaten/listened to/read) any good

_________ (movies/TV shows/food/music/books) lately?

What are you looking forward to next week?

Once you have five to six kids begin “Lego Creations.”
• Place the Legos in the center of the eGroup where all kids can

reach the pieces.
• Encourage children to build a Lego creation that represents

one of the scenarios listed below and then share the story behind their creation with the eGroup.

Create something that represents either the best or worst part of your week.
Create something that represents your favorite book or movie.

Create something that represents someone who

influences you to be more like Jesus.
• After kids have completed the task, allow kids to continue

creating whatever they choose with the Legos.
• Before transitioning to the Bible Story Activity, be sure all Legos have been collected and returned to the Lego bag.

BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY

STORY CREATIONS

WHAT YOU NEED: Bible, creation cards (10), Legos

WHAT YOU SAY:

“Welcome to eGroup! My name is _______ and I’m your eGroup leader! As an eGroup we will hang out together during Motion, hear stories from the Bible, learn what it means to live for Jesus, and play games!

This month in our Gadgets and Gizmos series, we’re focusing on making a difference by embracing the unique traits and characteristics God has placed in each of us. Let’s dig into God’s Word together now and learn more about some people in the Bible who embraced their uniqueness to do great things for God!”

WHAT YOU DO:

Have kids sit in a circle with their Bibles and instruct kids to turn to Acts 8. NOTE: This may take time, but it helps kids learn skills for reading the Bible on their own. If needed, encourage kids to use the table of contents in their Bible and then decide if the book is in the Old or New Testament.

Give each kid one creation card and place the Legos where kids can reach them easily.

Tell kids they have about two minutes to create a representation of the item listed on their creation card using the Legos.

After kids have had a couple of minutes to form their Lego creations, explain that kids will listen for the word on their creation card as you read the Bible story. When they hear the word, they should hold up their Lego creation for everyone to see.

Read Acts 8:26-40 aloud and encourage kids to hold up their Lego creations as their words are read.

WHAT YOU SAY:

“The Ethiopian official was desperate for answers to his questions. Philip explained God made him to follow Jesus. He told him how Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for his sin. He told him how Jesus came back to life again. As Philip spoke, the Ethiopian official began to understand. Right then and there, the official believed and began to follow Jesus. The same is true for us. Anyone who puts their faith in Christ is doing what God created them to do: belonging to Jesus and following Him. Keep asking questions and seeking God the way the Ethiopian man did, and God will show you His unique plan for your life.”

GROW

ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME?

WHAT YOU NEED: no supplies

WHAT YOU DO:

Explain you will give kids instructions about an imaginary snack they’ll create in their minds. Tell them to close their eyes, and instruct them not to talk.

Read the following instructions out loud:
Think of a plain but yummy food. We’ll call this your base food. It could be a cracker, a cake, a pizza crust, a donut, a tortilla… whatever you like best!
Now in your mind spread something delicious across the whole top of the base food you chose, like a sauce or a frosting.
Finally, sprinkle at least three of your favorite toppings across the top of your snack.
Describe the snack you created to a friend beside you.

Give kids time to describe their unique snacks to a friend.

WHAT YOU SAY:

“When I tried this, I created a (insert your snack here). (Sample: a chocolate cupcake topped with caramel frosting and sprinkled with coconut, chocolate chips, and marshmallow drizzle) It doesn’t sound like anyone ended up with the same thing I created, even though we followed the same directions. Some of you may have had something similar, but some of you had things that were really different. Some of you may not have even followed my instructions at all! Because it was happening in your mind, I couldn’t see what was happening along the way.

That’s how it is when you follow Jesus. You aren’t literally walking behind Him; you’re following His directions by reading the Bible, praying, and listening to what other Godly people tell you. People won’t be able to see you physically following Jesus, although hopefully your actions will tell them. And your journey with God may not look like everyone else’s, but if you follow Him, it will come out awesome in the end!”

JOURNAL AND PRAYER

“Today we learned God made you to follow Jesus. When you use what you’re learning as you follow Jesus to point others to God, you can see God do great things through you!

I want you to share the name of someone you know who follows Jesus. I’ll write your name and their name in our Prayer Journal, and then when we pray I’ll ask God to use that person to encourage and teach you as you learn to follow Jesus.”

WHAT YOU DO:

Write down what kids share in your eKidz Prayer Journal. Take your eKidz Prayer Journal home with you and pray for your kids throughout the week.

SUGGESTED PRAYER:

“God, we love You. Thank You for giving us Your Word and putting Godly people in our lives to help us learn how to follow You. Help these kids to surround themselves with other believers who can help them live in a way that honors You, and then use them as examples for others to see how to follow You, too. We love You. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

MEMORY VERSE

“Our Bible verse, Ephesians 2:10, tells us God created each of us with a unique purpose and unique abilities to help us fulfill that purpose!”

WHAT YOU DO:

Read the verse out loud: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Help kids look up the memory verse in their Bibles. Encourage children to use tools from the Bible tool kit to mark the verse in their Bible. Tell kids who didn’t bring a Bible they will receive a memory verse card at the end of the worship experience so they can remember to practice it at home.

Ask kids if there are any words or phrases they don’t understand and explain them as needed.

Choose one of the memory verse activities: “Verse Circuit” or “Verse Practice.”

VERSE CIRCUIT

• Split kids into four teams. Give each team a circuit board and a set of verse cards.

• Explain kids will race to put the verse cards in order. Once the cards are in order, they’ll have to arrange the cards to form a path across their circuit board from one of the batteries to one of the lightbulb ports.

The verse cards must stay in the correct order, but kids can rotate and arrange the pieces as needed to create a continuous path.

• eTL NOTE: Each set of cards has a different path, so teams can’t look at each other’s boards for clues as they try to figure out the correct path.

• The first team to form a continuous path from a battery to a lightbulb port wins!

VERSE PRACTICE

• Use the following methods to help kids practice the memory verse:

REPEAT AFTER ME: Have kids repeat each phrase of the verse after you.
PAIR UP: Have kids pair up to practice the verse together. MOTIONS: Come up with motions to represent phrases in the verse. Practice it together.